Focus Question: (Creative project--story from the perspective a young Mandan girl.) To what extent did the five months that the Corps of Discovery spent with the Mandan prepare them for encounters with other Native American groups?
Sources
Lewis, Meriwether, and William Clark. The Lewis and Clark Journals. Gary E. Moulton. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. 2003
The journals were originally written by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were edited into one book by Gary E. Moulton. Moulton is a professor of American History at the University of Nebraska. This primary source is composed of the direct words of Lewis and Clark. The journals tell about Corps of Discovery, and how they interacted with the Native Americans they encountered. Lewis and Clark write about most days of their journey. The journals have an entire section on the Mandan Winter. The journal might not be reliable, but it is a primary source which shows the point of view of Lewis, Clark and other members of the Corps of Discovery. The editor is very credible, because he is a professor of American History at the University of Nebraska. This was useful for my project, because the journals had a large section on the Mandan Winter; it also tells about the experiences that Lewis and Clark had with the Native Americans.
Josephy, Alvin M. Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
In this book, Alvin M. Josephy, and his co-authors tell stories about the Corps of Discovery’s encounters with Native American tribes. The book has a whole, entire section about the Mandan and Hidatsa Native American tribes, written by Gerard A. Baker (a Mandan-Hidatsa, currently a superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National memorial). He makes this section more of a primary source (because some parts are his point of view), but it also has some fact in it. This source is reliable because it is compatible with other sources. This source is accurate because the author supports his thesis with evidence from primary sources. The author is also credible. We know this because he was selected to write for this book, and he is a Mandan-Hidatsa himself. His job also tells us that he is some type of historian. This book was helpful for my project because it was written from the point of view of a Native American, and it explains what happened when the Corps of Discovery encountered Native Americans.
Ronda, James P. Lewis and Clark among the Indians. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1984.
Ronda provides information about the five months that Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery spent with the Mandan tribe. Rona tells about conflicts and friendships of the Mandan, and how the Corps of Discovery helped in creating them. He also gives a brief description of the Mandan lifestyle. Ronda also tells stories about the experiences that Lewis and Clark had while living near the Mandan. His book also has some helpful images, such as a map of the Missouri river, portraits of Mandan leaders, drawings of their lodges, and pictures of what the village looks like presently. I found some of these same images online, in various websites. This source is reliable, because it is compatible with other sources. This is an accurate source, I know this because Ronda has a bibliography, and he uses quotes from primary sources. The primary sources may be biased, but they are an opinion from someone else’s point of view. This author is very credible. He is a professor of history at Tulsa University. This source was useful for my project because it tells about how the Mandan lived, and how Lewis and Clark affected their lifestyles. Waldman, Carl. "Mandan." 2006.http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE4&iPin+ind2375&SingleRecord=True (accessed July 24, 2008). This article from American Indians Online is written by Carl Waldman. The article is about the Mandan Native American tribe. This article explains the culture, architecture, living conditions, religion, and agriculture, of the Mandan tribe. It is a general article about the Mandan, but it is full of information. It really helped in getting to know the Mandan Native American Tribe. This article was helpful in learning about the Mandan. It had the general information, and it also expanded on that information. The author of the article is the author of many other articles and books, on Native Americans. This source was useful for my project, because it told me about Mandan life, and it gave me the most important information about their lifestyles, and living conditions. Woodger, Elin, and Brandon Toropov. “hostile encounters with Indians on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.”Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2004. American History Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/active link2.asp?ItemID+WE52&iPin=ELCE0153&SingleRecord
I used this article, to learn about typical encounters with Native Americans. I learned that the encounter with the Mandan Native American tribe was not very typical. It was not hostile; it was actually friendly and peaceful. This article is also about the reason for the expedition and the Louisiana Purchase. This source is reliable, because the authors are credible, (Woodger, is an author of history books, and Toropov is an author who writes about cultures, religion, and myths). The source is also accurate, because the article’s information is compatible, with many of my other sources. I used this source to explain the expedition and Louisiana Purchase in general, and to explain contact they had with the many Native American tribes they encountered, which included the Mandan.
Preparing Lewis and Clark: A Creative Story By Christine E. Farzan Hello, my name is Christine Farzan. Today I will be reading you a story about a Mandan Indian girl, named Makawee, who is about thirteen years old. In this story, Makawee is telling the tale of when Lewis and Clark spent the winter, with her tribe. This is a fictional chronicle of her experience with Lewis and Clark. Chief Black Cat met with two pale men, called Lewis and Clark. When I heard of the meeting, I burst out of my maternal grandmother’s lodge, I saw my friends playing, and I asked them for more information about these men. They told me that the men were strange, and that they were on some sort of trip, to discover our land. This made no sense to me, why were they exploring our land, and why were they exploring it now? Chief says that Lewis and Clark want to help make peace between the Mandan, and our rival tribe, the Arikara. They need to understand, that we have reasons for our wars. Chief also said that the group, called the Corps of Discovery were our friends, and they would be spending the frigid, and harsh winter with us. The day after Chief’s meeting, and after the tribal meeting, I played house with my friends Wakanda, Chayton, and Kangee. Wakanda and I pretended to be our mothers. We pretended to cook, and we decorated the interior of the teepee we all made. Kangee and Chayton went “hunting” for meat. They say that they killed a buffalo with their bows and arrows, but we girls know that they just went to ask their mothers for the meat. Then the boys left and they went to go shoot a target with their bows and arrows. One day I would love to try that, but I am a girl and it is forbidden. I am so glad it is winter, because during the winter I don’t have to help my mother with the crops, which means I have more time to play, but I do have to go to the forest with my mother to get food for our horses. Lewis and Clark still want to help us make peace with the Arikara. Chief Black Cat finally decided to let them try to make peace, despite our important reasons for war. White people just don’t understand some of our native ways. On November 2, the Corps of Discovery made a place to live; they named it Fort Mandan after us. What really shocked me was that they are going to live across the river, they will use our resources, but they will not live amongst us. Sometime in December, when I was running I accidently crashed into Lewis and Clark, I apologized and ran off. Then the day after I started to begin to speak with them, because I knew some English, it was easy to talk with them. I said “My name is Makawee, I am 13 years old.” They responded with “I am Meriwether Lewis, and this is William Clark, we are here to explore the Louisiana Purchase”. I didn’t understand what they meant when they said “purchase”. Did they buy the land, that my people had lived one for millenniums? Who sold the land they call the “Louisiana Purchase” to them? I had so many questions; I did not know where to start! Then I met a man with skin darker than mine. I have never seen someone who has dark skin like him. And, he travels with men who have very fair skin. Maybe, he is some sort of medicine man. Later, I spoke to him. I introduced myself, and he told me that his name was York. When I asked him about his dark skin he said “I am not a medicine man, I am simply a slave who works for William Clark.” That astounded me. When I told my family they were rendered speechless. A few days after my last encounter with Lewis and Clark, we met again this time I met a Native American woman, named Sacajawea, she was pregnant. I believe she is a member of the Shoshone, and married to a French fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau. Lewis and Clark said she was going to the ocean with them as well. What ocean? I thought in my head. They answered all my questions, they said that their president, who they call Jefferson bought all of our land. They said he purchased the land from a man named Napoleon Bonaparte. The ocean they were trying to get to was called the Pacific Ocean. They said they had three goals they explained each one to me very carefully. The first goal was to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. They told me, that when they did this, they could trade with people in a faraway place called Asia. Their second goal was to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They wanted to find plant species, animal species, new landmarks, and new geographic features. Finally, their third goal was to create diplomatic relations with us, and other Native American tribes. They claimed it was good for trade, and that it was also good for our futures. As I got closer to Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea, I began to teach them more about our culture, I taught them about how our diet was mainly based around the buffalo, and about our buffalo ceremony, where we danced for days, waiting for the buffalo to come. Over time, they began to understand our culture more, but they still did not understand our reason for war. I explained to them our reasons. I said “No one lives forever, not even a chief. So when our chief passes on, we will need a new chief. The way we, and our other Siouan tribes select a chief is by who is the best warrior. The warrior has to prove he is strong, brave and courageous. In order to do prove that the warrior is strong, brave and courageous is to have wars. This is why both sides don’t want to have peace.” I also explained how our tribes do not hate each other, we just dislike each other. Over the 5 months they lived with us, Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and I became very good acquaintances. I learned about their cultures, and they learned about mine. The best part of it was when they finally understood our customs, and ways of life. I really feel like I am the one who prepared them for other encounters with Native Americans. They also helped me understand what the people with the pale skin value and believe. I am so glad I met them, and I am so glad I got to change their worlds, and the way they think about my people.
Focus Question: (Creative project--story from the perspective a young Mandan girl.) To what extent did the five months that the Corps of Discovery spent with the Mandan prepare them for encounters with other Native American groups?
Sources
Lewis, Meriwether, and William Clark. The Lewis and Clark Journals. Gary E. Moulton. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. 2003
The journals were originally written by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were edited into one book by Gary E. Moulton. Moulton is a professor of American History at the University of Nebraska. This primary source is composed of the direct words of Lewis and Clark. The journals tell about Corps of Discovery, and how they interacted with the Native Americans they encountered. Lewis and Clark write about most days of their journey. The journals have an entire section on the Mandan Winter. The journal might not be reliable, but it is a primary source which shows the point of view of Lewis, Clark and other members of the Corps of Discovery. The editor is very credible, because he is a professor of American History at the University of Nebraska. This was useful for my project, because the journals had a large section on the Mandan Winter; it also tells about the experiences that Lewis and Clark had with the Native Americans.
Josephy, Alvin M. Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
In this book, Alvin M. Josephy, and his co-authors tell stories about the Corps of Discovery’s encounters with Native American tribes. The book has a whole, entire section about the Mandan and Hidatsa Native American tribes, written by Gerard A. Baker (a Mandan-Hidatsa, currently a superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National memorial). He makes this section more of a primary source (because some parts are his point of view), but it also has some fact in it.
This source is reliable because it is compatible with other sources. This source is accurate because the author supports his thesis with evidence from primary sources. The author is also credible. We know this because he was selected to write for this book, and he is a Mandan-Hidatsa himself. His job also tells us that he is some type of historian. This book was helpful for my project because it was written from the point of view of a Native American, and it explains what happened when the Corps of Discovery encountered Native Americans.
Ronda, James P. Lewis and Clark among the Indians. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1984.
Ronda provides information about the five months that Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery spent with the Mandan tribe. Rona tells about conflicts and friendships of the Mandan, and how the Corps of Discovery helped in creating them. He also gives a brief description of the Mandan lifestyle. Ronda also tells stories about the experiences that Lewis and Clark had while living near the Mandan. His book also has some helpful images, such as a map of the Missouri river, portraits of Mandan leaders, drawings of their lodges, and pictures of what the village looks like presently. I found some of these same images online, in various websites.
This source is reliable, because it is compatible with other sources. This is an accurate source, I know this because Ronda has a bibliography, and he uses quotes from primary sources. The primary sources may be biased, but they are an opinion from someone else’s point of view. This author is very credible. He is a professor of history at Tulsa University. This source was useful for my project because it tells about how the Mandan lived, and how Lewis and Clark affected their lifestyles.
Waldman, Carl. "Mandan." 2006.http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE4&iPin+ind2375&SingleRecord=True (accessed July 24, 2008).
This article from American Indians Online is written by Carl Waldman. The article is about the Mandan Native American tribe. This article explains the culture, architecture, living conditions, religion, and agriculture, of the Mandan tribe. It is a general article about the Mandan, but it is full of information. It really helped in getting to know the Mandan Native American Tribe.
This article was helpful in learning about the Mandan. It had the general information, and it also expanded on that information. The author of the article is the author of many other articles and books, on Native Americans. This source was useful for my project, because it told me about Mandan life, and it gave me the most important information about their lifestyles, and living conditions.
Woodger, Elin, and Brandon Toropov. “hostile encounters with Indians on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.”Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2004. American History Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/active link2.asp?ItemID+WE52&iPin=ELCE0153&SingleRecord
I used this article, to learn about typical encounters with Native Americans. I learned that the encounter with the Mandan Native American tribe was not very typical. It was not hostile; it was actually friendly and peaceful. This article is also about the reason for the expedition and the Louisiana Purchase. This source is reliable, because the authors are credible, (Woodger, is an author of history books, and Toropov is an author who writes about cultures, religion, and myths). The source is also accurate, because the article’s information is compatible, with many of my other sources. I used this source to explain the expedition and Louisiana Purchase in general, and to explain contact they had with the many Native American tribes they encountered, which included the Mandan.
Preparing Lewis and Clark:
A Creative Story
By Christine E. Farzan
Hello, my name is Christine Farzan. Today I will be reading you a story about a Mandan Indian girl, named Makawee, who is about thirteen years old. In this story, Makawee is telling the tale of when Lewis and Clark spent the winter, with her tribe. This is a fictional chronicle of her experience with Lewis and Clark.
Chief Black Cat met with two pale men, called Lewis and Clark. When I heard of the meeting, I burst out of my maternal grandmother’s lodge, I saw my friends playing, and I asked them for more information about these men. They told me that the men were strange, and that they were on some sort of trip, to discover our land. This made no sense to me, why were they exploring our land, and why were they exploring it now?
Chief says that Lewis and Clark want to help make peace between the Mandan, and our rival tribe, the Arikara. They need to understand, that we have reasons for our wars. Chief also said that the group, called the Corps of Discovery were our friends, and they would be spending the frigid, and harsh winter with us.
The day after Chief’s meeting, and after the tribal meeting, I played house with my friends Wakanda, Chayton, and Kangee. Wakanda and I pretended to be our mothers. We pretended to cook, and we decorated the interior of the teepee we all made. Kangee and Chayton went “hunting” for meat. They say that they killed a buffalo with their bows and arrows, but we girls know that they just went to ask their mothers for the meat. Then the boys left and they went to go shoot a target with their bows and arrows. One day I would love to try that, but I am a girl and it is forbidden. I am so glad it is winter, because during the winter I don’t have to help my mother with the crops, which means I have more time to play, but I do have to go to the forest with my mother to get food for our horses.
Lewis and Clark still want to help us make peace with the Arikara. Chief Black Cat finally decided to let them try to make peace, despite our important reasons for war. White people just don’t understand some of our native ways.
On November 2, the Corps of Discovery made a place to live; they named it Fort Mandan after us. What really shocked me was that they are going to live across the river, they will use our resources, but they will not live amongst us.
Sometime in December, when I was running I accidently crashed into Lewis and Clark, I apologized and ran off. Then the day after I started to begin to speak with them, because I knew some English, it was easy to talk with them. I said “My name is Makawee, I am 13 years old.” They responded with “I am Meriwether Lewis, and this is William Clark, we are here to explore the Louisiana Purchase”. I didn’t understand what they meant when they said “purchase”. Did they buy the land, that my people had lived one for millenniums? Who sold the land they call the “Louisiana Purchase” to them? I had so many questions; I did not know where to start!
Then I met a man with skin darker than mine. I have never seen someone who has dark skin like him. And, he travels with men who have very fair skin. Maybe, he is some sort of medicine man. Later, I spoke to him. I introduced myself, and he told me that his name was York. When I asked him about his dark skin he said “I am not a medicine man, I am simply a slave who works for William Clark.” That astounded me. When I told my family they were rendered speechless.
A few days after my last encounter with Lewis and Clark, we met again this time I met a Native American woman, named Sacajawea, she was pregnant. I believe she is a member of the Shoshone, and married to a French fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau. Lewis and Clark said she was going to the ocean with them as well. What ocean? I thought in my head. They answered all my questions, they said that their president, who they call Jefferson bought all of our land. They said he purchased the land from a man named Napoleon Bonaparte. The ocean they were trying to get to was called the Pacific Ocean. They said they had three goals they explained each one to me very carefully. The first goal was to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. They told me, that when they did this, they could trade with people in a faraway place called Asia. Their second goal was to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They wanted to find plant species, animal species, new landmarks, and new geographic features. Finally, their third goal was to create diplomatic relations with us, and other Native American tribes. They claimed it was good for trade, and that it was also good for our futures.
As I got closer to Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea, I began to teach them more about our culture, I taught them about how our diet was mainly based around the buffalo, and about our buffalo ceremony, where we danced for days, waiting for the buffalo to come. Over time, they began to understand our culture more, but they still did not understand our reason for war.
I explained to them our reasons. I said “No one lives forever, not even a chief. So when our chief passes on, we will need a new chief. The way we, and our other Siouan tribes select a chief is by who is the best warrior. The warrior has to prove he is strong, brave and courageous. In order to do prove that the warrior is strong, brave and courageous is to have wars. This is why both sides don’t want to have peace.” I also explained how our tribes do not hate each other, we just dislike each other.
Over the 5 months they lived with us, Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and I became very good acquaintances. I learned about their cultures, and they learned about mine. The best part of it was when they finally understood our customs, and ways of life. I really feel like I am the one who prepared them for other encounters with Native Americans. They also helped me understand what the people with the pale skin value and believe. I am so glad I met them, and I am so glad I got to change their worlds, and the way they think about my people.
-Christine Farzan